It is, and was, no secret that Chip Kelly loved his former Oregon QB Marcus Mariota. It was no secret that he loved him quite a bit. And apparently, if what FOX Sports Peter Schrager is saying is true, he loved him way more than anyone thought.
In an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show yesterday that no one listened to thanks to the NCAA Tournament, Schrager said Kelly offered up a lot to the Titans for the #2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
https://twitter.com/LiamJenkins21/status/710536904836575232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
If you don’t want to listen to the clip, Schrager said the Eagles offered the Titans the following…
– A 2015 first round pick (#20 overall- used to take WR Nelson Agholor)
– A 2016 first round pick (#13 overall, though who knows how the Eagles would have done in 2015 with Mariota)
– A 2015 second round pick (#47 overall- used to take CB Eric Rowe)
– Any QB on the Eagles roster
– Any defensive player on the Eagles roster
That’s quite a ransom for the Titans if they had chosen to take that deal. Three reasonably high draft picks, Mark Sanchez or Sam Bradford, and any defensive player (and the Eagles had quite a few studs last year, including Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan) is quite a price to pay for a rookie QB. Though it may never top Mike Ditka giving up his entire draft to take Ricky Williams, Chip Kelly was prepared to mortgage the farm to get his former college QB.
Although the Titans will probably tell you they made the right decision in keeping Mariota (even though their coach is Mike Mularkey), there will probably be a few second thoughts in Nashville about taking that package.
How recent NFL history may have changed if this deal went down.
[Deadspin]
